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11/8/17

The transatlantic alliance – which for decades has underpinned global
stability, fortified democracy, and safeguarded the West as we know it –
is under severe strain, and risks terminal decline. US President Donald
Trump – who has repeatedly challenged America’s traditional alliances,
including by attacking NATO – undoubtedly bears much responsibility for
this deterioration. But Europe, through its inaction, has also
contributed to this state of affairs – and now it must contribute to
fixing it.

The West’s malaise
is, no doubt, a result of the ongoing and unresolved economic-governance
challenges created by globalization. These challenges are particularly
acute in the European Union, where policy paralysis has prevented
governments from fully implementing the reforms needed to overcome the
financial crisis that began a decade ago.

European leaders
agree that the eurozone’s current institutional setup is flawed, and
they know what must be done. But they remain plagued by inertia,
immobilized by conservatism, and preoccupied by domestic politics, with
many leaders allowing themselves to be taken hostage by populist
Euroskepticism. As a result, they have failed to take the steps required
to ensure the EU’s long-term stability, including a complete banking
union to backstop Europe’s finances and a genuine system of EU-wide
economic governance.

The absence of a cogent US president who is willing and able to
encourage the EU to make further progress toward integration does not
help matters. But European leaders must take responsibility for their
own recalcitrance – and take action to save the Union.

The good news is that popular support for the EU has improved markedly
since the United Kingdom’s Brexit vote in June 2016, creating a window
of opportunity to deliver meaningful reform. But the window will not
stay open for long. And, so far, EU leaders have failed to leverage
renewed support for the European project to argue for change.